Once the man stopped laughing, he crouched down and lifted the plate off Iris' head. She then brought her arms up, covering her face as best she could. This was just too embarrassing, how could she face him now. What kind of fox didn't even know her own capabilities?
But the man didn't seem to be understanding of her predicament. He just chuckled again upon seeing her actions and ruffled her fur, then patted her head. "I gave you food, not toys," he told her seriously.
'Well, duh!' she answered, moving her paws away to look up at him with narrowed eyes. What did it look like she had been doing? Playing?
The man placed the plate back on its correct side and collected the pieces of cutlet, putting them back in. While doing so, he accidentally split one piece, and Iris pounced on it. This time, with her landing in the middle of the plate, no accidents happened. She swiftly swallowed the crumb-sized piece of meat and eyed the others, larger ones, with dissatisfaction. What was she supposed to do with them?
There was a sound nearby, and she saw the man shifting in position while watching her with interest. When she noticed him, an idea came to her mind. She sat down in the middle of the plate and pushed one of the large pieces of meat with her nose to the man, then watched him with her tail swishing back and forth.
He'd get it, right? She truly hoped he was smart enough to guess her intentions, for if not, she might have to go hungry today. That one morsel she just ate didn't count. It was fly-sized, so how could anyone be satisfied with just that?
As she stared at the man, he slowly extended his long hand toward the meat. His actions were hesitant, so Iris cooed, pushing the large piece even closer to him.
"You want me to pick it up?" he asked, his voice full of confusion. It seemed like the fennec wanted him to pick up its meat, but how could that be? This little fox's actions were way too human, like it was thinking like a human.
Even now, the moment he asked a question, it started nodding as if agreeing with his statement. Feeling like this situation was way too surreal, he picked up the morsel and split it into five, which he put before the little creature.
It dived on them like its life depended on it, munching on them with gusto. Kyro examined the little fox again, but it didn't seem like it had been starved. Its fur might be a bit dirty from the stroll outside, but it was glossy and thick, clearly healthy. The little thing itself was also lively and enthusiastic, unafraid of anything.
The moment the fennec finished its meal, it pushed another morsel to Kyro, looking at him with expectant eyes. "Smart," Kyro praised it and split the other pieces as well, making sure they were all small enough for the little fox. It seemed like its teeth were yet to become sharp, so it could only play around with any larger pieces of food.
This thought reminded him that he knew nothing of this little thing. It was adorable, but there was no way he could keep it. He knew little of fennecs, but he clearly remembered reading once that they were an endangered species and one had to wait in line for years to receive a baby from the breeders. It was impossible that such a rare creature would be a stray.
It was late now, and he was tired from work, so he pushed the task of looking for the owner to tomorrow. He'll look online and ask in the neighboring compounds if anyone's pet went missing. The owner should be in a panic now, but Kyro couldn't be bothered to look if they've already posted anything.
They deserved to worry a bit after being careless with their pet. Maybe they'll learn to treasure it more after missing it for a day.
It was quite unbelievable for Kyro how anyone could allow such an expensive and rare pet to escape. Besides being valuable, it simply couldn't survive outside. It was cruelty to let it starve to death in the streets.
"Tomorrow, I'll bring you back to your owners, but for today, you'll stay at my place, okay?" he asked the happily eating fox.
Upon hearing his voice, it lifted its head and tilted it to the side, as if pondering over what he'd said. Then, it shook its head and returned to eating, dismissing him. Clearly, whatever he was saying paled in comparison to the treat on the plate.
"I see, I see," Kyro muttered, laughing to himself. This little fox was certainly adorable. He truly hoped that its owner would show up soon, else he might find himself unable to let it go.